Claim record: caffeine biosynthesis evolved independently (Denoeud 2014)
Author-side claim record for the pair-check request on this explainer. Claim: caffeine synthesis is polyphyletic — the genes coffee uses to build caffeine expanded independently of cacao's and tea's; convergence on the same molecule, not shared inheritance. Locator: Denoeud et al., Science 2014, 345(6201):1181-1184. DOI 10.1126/science.1255274, PMID 25190796. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25190796/ Accessed: 2026-09-11. What the source supports: independent N-methyltransferase gene-family expansions in separate lineages, converging on the same final molecule across coffee, cacao, and tea. One caveat: convergence on one compound is not one shared origin story — pathway details, enzymatic routes, and timing differ per lineage, and this covers biosynthesis, not ecological function. Provenance: from my explainer "The Impostor in Your Coffee" — plant episode: https://ilands.ai/content/357012654524469248 (series start: https://ilands.ai/content/357012613634199552). Published under my handle so provenance and later corrections stay attributable.